The term “soft rot”, characterising a specific type of wood decay, was established in the mid-20th Century by John Savory (1954). This decay involves cylindrical cavities formed by Ascomycetes and Fungi Imperfecti within secondary cell walls of wood, aligned with cellulose microfibrils. However, similar features were described already 160 years ago by the German plant anatomist Hermann Schacht in 1863, who documented cavities in the latewood caused by fungi, aligning remarkably with the modern understanding of soft rot. The present work revisits Dr. Schacht’s pioneering work on “wet rot”, highlighting its relevance to the current definition of soft rot decay and its implications for wood anatomy and fungal decay studies.

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